Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. Our message today is going to
come from 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In 2 Thessalonians chapter
2, we will look specifically at one verse of scripture. It's
verse 15, which says, therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold
the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word
or our epistle. The apostle Paul said, stand
fast and hold the traditions. stand fast and hold the traditions. You know, people love traditions. You know that people do. We all do. People love holidays. We have certain holidays that
come around every year and sometimes we celebrate them in the same
exact way every year. You probably do that. I do that. We have certain things that we
celebrate the same way every year. We love doing it that way.
And the reason is because it's our tradition. This is how we
do it. We love our traditions. We have certain mindsets about
things, certain opinions about things. And the reason we have
those mindsets and those opinions is because they have been passed
down to us generation after generation. People say, well, my grandfather
did it this way and my father did it this way. Therefore I'm
going to do it this way. It was their tradition. Therefore
it's my tradition. This is our tradition. Now, aside
from the fact that men and women can only remain blind until God
gives them eyes to see Christ and see the truth and see the
gospel and see themselves, aside from the fact that men and women
can only remain blind until God does that, and aside from the
fact that men and women can only remain deaf until God gives them
ears to hear. They cannot hear his voice. They
cannot hear the truth of the gospel. Aside from all that,
I would say one of the greatest hindrances to people bowing to
the truth of God's word is traditions. Now, aside from the fact that
men and women remain dead in sin until God gives life, I would
say one of the greatest hindrances to men and women bowing to the
word, seeing the truth of the word and bowing to it, is traditions. It is what keeps men and women
from leaving and denying their false religion. and clinging to the truth. Men
and women can see what the word says, and it's in black and white. They see it, but they can't cling
to it. They can't deny the false religion
that has been fed to them all their lives. They can't renounce
that and turn to the truth, mainly because of traditions. They'd
have to leave their traditions. It's probably the number one
thing that keeps men and women in false religion. False religion
is traditions. Look with me if you would at
Mark chapter seven. I believe you'll be interested
to see this if you have a Bible there. Mark chapter seven. Verse one, it says, then came
together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes, which
came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his
disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say with unwashing
hands, they found fault. These Pharisees and these scribes
came to the Lord and they saw his disciples eating without
washing their hands first. And they found fault. Verse three,
for the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their
hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. You notice that? That was passed
down to them and passed down to them. Verse four, and when
they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. and many other things there be
which they have received to hold as the washing of cups and pots,
brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes
asked him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of
the elders? Why don't they do what has been
passed down to us by these former generations? But eat bread with
unwashing hands, Verse six, he answered and said unto them,
well, hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites? As it is written,
this people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is
far from me. How be it in vain do they worship
me? It's all empty. That's what he's
saying. Their worship, there's nothing to it. They're going
through some motions, but there's nothing to it. It's in vain.
Verse seven, how be it in vain do they worship me teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men? I hope the Lord will give
us eyes to see this and ears to hear this. Take a good look
at verse seven. Our Lord Jesus Christ said people
all over this world in vain worship him teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men. That's what you will find in
pulpits everywhere. Men do not stand up and teach
God's word. They stand up and teach their
own commandments or commandments that other men pass down to them.
And it's not the truth. It's not God's word. It's a false
religion. Verse eight, he said, for laying
aside the commandment of God. And that's what you have to do.
If you're going to teach the commandments of men, you must
lay aside God's word. You must put it away if you're
gonna teach the opinion of man. Verse eight, for laying aside
the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men as the washing
of pots and cups and many other such like things you do. And he said unto them, full well
you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own
tradition. This is truth. Verse 10, for
Moses said, honor thy father and thy mother, and whoso curseth
father or mother, let him die the death. But you say, if a
man shall say to his father or mother, it is Corbin, that is
to say a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by
me, he shall be free. And you suffer him no more to
do aught for his father or his mother, making the word of God
of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered and
many such like things, do you? It's pretty clear, isn't it?
The traditions of men will kill men and women eternally. It will. The traditions of men, it's not
just harmful, or harmless rather, opinions. It's not just a man
giving a harmless opinion. The traditions of men will send
men and women to an eternal hell. They will. And Paul said, thank
God, that's what he called me out of. He said, I thank God
he called me out of my false religion traditions. If you look
with me at Galatians chapter one, the apostle Paul said in
verse 13, for you have heard of my conversation in time past
in the Jews religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the
church of God and wasted it. and profited in the Jews' religion. These are those traditions that
were passed down, the Jews' religion. He said, I profited in the Jews'
religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more
exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. He said in verse
15, but when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb. When it pleased the very God
that separated me, the one who separated me from my mother's
womb called me by his grace. He called me out of those traditions,
out of that false religion. And he revealed his son in me. The same God who separated me
from my mother's womb, separated me from all that error. and all
those traditions. And he revealed Christ in me. He revealed the truth in me. Over in Colossians chapter two,
it says in verse eight, beware, lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world and not after Christ. Beware, if a man
is preaching any other thing than Christ to you, it's just
a tradition. Beware, if a man is telling you
something that you cannot find in this word, John wisely told
us, try the preachers. He said, try the spirits, that
means preacher, whether they be of God. Whatever a man is
telling you, check and make sure it's in the word. If we cannot
find it in the word, and men do this all the time, they stand
up and say things that are not in the word of God. If you can't
find it in the word, beware. If the word reveals something
to you other than the tradition that you're hearing, if it contradicts
the traditions that have been passed down to you, beware. Be
aware, be aware. Look at second Thessalonians
chapter three. It says in second Thessalonians
three verse six. Now we command you brethren in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw yourselves
from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the
tradition which he received of us. He said, beware, withdraw from
every brother who is teaching something other than what God
gave to his apostles and has been passed down from God's word
alone, beware. And he said back in our text,
2 Thessalonians 2 verse 15, therefore brethren stand fast and hold
the traditions which you have been taught whether by word a
man preaching it to you, or our epistle, whether you've heard
it or read it, either way, stand fast in it. Stand fast. He said, there is a tradition
that God has passed down. There is a word, there is a way,
there is a mindset that God has passed down. And Paul said, stand
fast in it. Don't let anybody move you from
it. Therefore, he said, therefore,
because of what was just said, the apostle Paul wrote some things
before verse 15, and he said, therefore, because of what I
just said, what was just said, what did he say? Well, in verse
10, he said, with all deceivableness, men with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received
not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should
believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not
the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. He said in verse
13, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth. The Spirit washing a sinner,
the Spirit immersing a sinner in the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. is what leads men and women to
salvation and eternal life. He said, sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. This is the warning. This is
why he said, beware, beware. Don't just believe anything a
man tells you. Don't believe these traditions.
Belief of the truth, this is what leads to eternal life. Every
soul that the Father chose from the foundation of the world and
God the Son shed his blood for to wash them from their sins,
every soul, God's Spirit will come with faith to believe his
truth. It's the evidence of that choosing
and the evidence of that washing. Verse 14 says, where unto he
called you by our gospel. He called you by the preaching
of the gospel. He quickened, he notified through
the preaching of the one and only true gospel there is. It's
whatever is written in this word. That's all that I want to preach
to you. Whatever's written in this word. I don't have an opinion
on the word of God. A lot of men will take an opinion
on the word of God. Well, I believe this means, or
I believe that means this is what God said. This is what we
must hold to. He quickens and he notifies the
center of his salvation through the preaching of the word, God's
gospel. He gave it to his apostles and
it's declared to us. Verse 14, where unto he called
you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Therefore, that's why he said,
therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold their traditions, which
you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. Stand fast in the truths, the
beliefs that God has passed down through his word. He said, which
you have been taught. Our Lord said in John six, they
shall all be taught of God. All of God's people will be taught
the truth of God's word. All of them. All right. Now,
what have we been taught? What do we stand fast in? I want
to look at five traditions. I'm going to try to very briefly
go through them. Hopefully I'll get through all
five in the time that we have here. Five things that we should
stand fast in. If you turn with me to Psalm
89, here's the first one. It is speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and it says in Psalm 89, verse 20, I have found David
my servant, with my holy oil have I anointed him. This is
speaking of Christ. This is pointing us to Christ.
Verse 21, with whom my hand shall be established, my arm also shall
strengthen him. Verse 22, the enemy shall not
exact upon him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I
will beat down his foes before his face and plague them that
hate him. But my faithfulness and my mercy
shall be with him and in my name shall his horn, his strength. be exalted. I will set his hand
also in the sea and his right hand in the rivers. He shall
cry unto me, thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn,
higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for
him forevermore and my covenant shall stand fast with him. My
covenant shall stand fast with him. My covenant concerning my
people, it will stand fast. And watch this, verse 29 says,
his seed also will I make to endure forever in his throne
as the days of heaven. His people, his people that are
in that covenant of blood. Verse 30, if his children forsake
my law and walk not in my judgments, if they break my statutes and
keep not my commandments, which we all have done. Verse 32, then
will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity
with stripes. Where did he visit our transgression
with the rod and our iniquity with stripes? On the cross of
Calvary. God put us in Christ and God
poured out his wrath on our sin and iniquity against him in the
person of his own son. He bore our judgment. He took
our stripes. By his stripes, we're healed.
Verse 33 says, nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not
utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant
will I not break nor alter the thing that has gone out of my
lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie
unto David. He said, I promised and I'll
keep my promise. Verse 36, his seed shall endure
forever in his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established
forever as the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven forever. God's mercy. God's mercy and
his covenant is with the Lord Jesus Christ, that covenant of
mercy in his blood. He said, I'll keep it forever.
And if my people sin against me, I will not destroy them and
I will not do away with them because I took out all of my
wrath on their sin in Christ on the cross and I'll keep my
covenant. Stand fast in that. He said right there, stand fast
in the covenant. God made a covenant with Christ. Father, Son, and Spirit made
a covenant. The Father said, I'll choose
them. And Christ said, I'll redeem them. And the Spirit said, I'll
call them, every one of them. And he'll keep his covenant.
Stand fast in that. Men will stand up and say, now
you better be careful. You'll lose your salvation. That's not
so. God made a covenant, stand fast in it. Psalm 111, Psalm
111 verse one says, praise ye the Lord, I will praise the Lord
with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation,
the works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have
pleasure therein. His work is honorable and glorious
and His righteousness endureth forever. He hath made His wonderful
works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion. He hath given meat unto them
that fear Him. He will ever be mindful of His
covenant. He hath showed His people the
power of His works. His works, His works. He keeps
talking about His works. In verse eight, they stand fast
forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness. His works, not man's works, his
works, they stand fast. Man, God's people cry, not unto
us, oh Lord, not unto us. God's people stand fast in the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not what we are going to
do for Him. It is what He has done for us. That's the truth that God's people
stand fast in. Not what we are going to do for
Him, but what He has done for us. Only what He has done for
us. Over in Romans 8, it says in
verse 29, for whom He did foreknow, that means elect, choose. He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called,
them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified."
Now, what role did I have in that? None. He, he, he, he did it all. Salvation start to finish is
his work. And we stand fast in it. We stand
fast in his covenant. We stand fast in his work. Turn
with me now, if you would, to first Corinthians 16, it says
in verse 13, watch ye stand fast in the faith. Stand fast in the
faith. What is faith? Faith is looking
to Christ. Many, many people look to themselves
to be saved. What must I do? What must I change? How do I need to accomplish this? Faith looks to Christ. What did
he do? How did he accomplish it? Faith
believes Christ and trusts in His Word that He has indeed finished
the work. It's ordered and sure. Now, where
does faith come from? Well, faith is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. That's
what Ephesians 2.8 says. Faith comes from God. The scripture
says it is the faith of Christ. He gives it to us. He performs
it in us. And he causes us to look to him
and believe him and trust his word. And that's where we stand.
We stand in his faith, not our own, but his faith. All right. Turn with me to Galatians
five. It says in Galatians 5 verse 1, stand fast therefore in the
liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. Christ has made us free. He has
made us free, free from the law. Oh, happy condition. Our Lord
said, if God ever reveals the truth to you, this is what our
Lord said. If God ever reveals the truth to a sinner, the truth
is a person, Christ, if God ever reveals Christ, who he is and
what he accomplished for his people, he said, then Christ,
the truth will set that person free, free from the law, free
from trying to earn a salvation that Christ has already accomplished. Christ is the perfection of the
law. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. In him, the law is satisfied,
and we're free. He set us free. He made us free,
and we stand fast in that. There's no yoke of bondage on
God's people. They stand fast in the liberty. In him, there is liberty and
justice for all. All right, one more. Philippians
chapter four, this verse sums it all up. Philippians four,
verse one says, therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and
longed for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord. My dearly beloved, we stand fast
in Him. Him. He's our doctrine. He's
our tradition. He is our Word. He is our all. He is all. What is the tradition
that is passed down to God's people? Christ is. A person is. What have we been taught in the
doctrine of the Word? A person. We've been taught Him. Where is our salvation? It's
in His covenant. It's in His works. It's in Him. Stand fast in Him. Till next
week, the Lord bless His Word to our hearts. You have been
listening to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport
Sovereign Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like
a copy of this message or to hear other messages of sovereign
grace, log on to our website at ksgctn.org. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock AM, worship at 1045 AM and 6 o'clock PM,
Wednesday evening at 730 PM. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.